The widow of murder victim Geoff Kerr was present in court today as a man appeared accused of murdering her husband.

Mr Kerr’s wife Sally, his four sons and other family members attended the special sitting of Ballymena Magistrates Court to see Antrim man Darren Ivan Kernohan charged with the murder.

Kernohan, of Moss Drive, was led handcuffed into the dock by two police officers. Dressed in jeans and a blue tee-shirt, the 33-year-old spoke only to confirm his name.

When Kernohan appeared Mr Kerr’s wife and sons moved to another side of the public gallery to get a better view of the man charged with killing the financial adviser at his Templepatrick home last Monday evening.

They did not take their eyes from Kernohan throughout his brief court appearance.

The accused looked back at the family as an investigating officer told the court he believed he could connect him with the charge against him.

District Judge Mr Richard Wilson remanded Kernohan in custody to appear before Antrim Magistrates Court by videolink in three weeks.

Two other men held in connection with the murder have been released without charge.

A woman in her 50s arrested on Saturday in Newtownabbey was released pending reports to the Public Prosecution Service.

A woman arrested in Glengormley on a connecting charge was also released pending reports.

Mr Kerr, a financial adviser and member of the Ulster Unionist Party, was shot dead at his home in the old village area of Templepatrick after a struggle with two intruders.

Mrs Kerr (51) and one of their four sons were in the house in Templepatrick when he was killed.

At his funeral at Templepatrick Presbyterian Church on Saturday, the Rev Richard Kerr said the 60 year-old was "full of life and vitality".

“To have met him was a privilege, an experience. He drew you in with his chat and charm,” said the Rev Kerr, who is not related to the |family.

“To know him as a husband, father, was to know a man who loved you dearly, would have done anything for you.

“For all of us, whether we knew him as family, through business, socially, through church, we were enriched and influenced by a man who was full of life and vitality, who lived life to the full, who embraced us with his charisma, and who made you feel accepted, valued, special.

The Rev Kerr said that while the Kerr family were thankful for their loved one’s life, “it is impossible to escape the uncertainty, the questions, the feeling of loss, the nature of his death”.